Electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

An electronic apparatus includes a battery housing section that houses a removable battery; and an electronic component housing section that houses a removable electronic component that operates with power supplied by the battery housed in the battery housing section. The apparatus further includes an electronic-component housing section cover that covers the electronic component housed in the electronic component housing section that is movable between a locked position in which its attachment is not allowed and an unlocked position in which its attachment is allowed. The electronic-component housing section cover is prohibited from moving from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is housed in the battery housing section and is allowed to move from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is removed from the battery housing section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus having anelectronic-component housing section cover which covers an electroniccomponent that operates with power supplied from a battery housed in abattery housing section.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, among notebook type personal computers (hereinafterreferred to as “notebook PC”), which is one type of the electronicapparatus, there has been a notebook PC having on its lower surface, acover for covering the housing section that houses a hard disk drive(HDD) unit and a cover for covering the housing section of a memorysubstrate mounted with a memory. In such a notebook PC, there is no needto remove these covers in a normal use. However, at the time of themaintenance and the like, these covers are removed if necessary, forexample, to replace a defective HDD unit replaced with a non-defectiveHDD unit, or to replace the currently mounted memory substrate withanother memory substrate having a larger capacity in order to increasethe memory capacity of a notebook PC.

It is conceivable that the HDD unit and the memory substrate may bechanged while the power of the notebook PC is unintentionally kept tunedon or the power is left turned on due to failure and the like. In such acase, it is very likely that when the HDD unit and the memory substrateare detached or attached, these HDD unit and memory substrate willdeteriorate due to the power supplied by a battery. Therefore, thefollowing operational procedure is required: first the battery isremoved so that power supply to the HDD unit and memory substrate arecut off and subsequently, the covers for covering the HDD unit andmemory substrate are removed so that these HDD unit and memory substratecan be replaced.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-294948 proposes atechnique that employs an opening/closing mechanism for determining theorder of opening/closing the covers. According to this technique, it ispossible to prevent the covers from being broken or damaged due to thecovers being opened/closed in an incorrect order.

However, Patent Application Publication No. 2000-294948 merely suggestshow to avoid incorrect opening/closing of the covers and mentionsnothing related to how to prevent an electronic component fromdeteriorating or being damaged due to the power supplied by a batterywhen the electronic component such as a HDD unit and a memory substrateis replaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstanceand provides an electronic apparatus capable of preventing an electroniccomponent from deteriorating or being damaged at the time of maintenanceand the like.

An electronic apparatus of the present invention includes:

a battery housing section that houses a removable battery;

an electronic component housing section that houses a removableelectronic component that operates with power supplied by the batteryhoused in the battery housing section; and

an electronic-component housing section cover that covers the electroniccomponent housed in the electronic component housing section and isprohibited from moving when the battery is housed in the battery housingsection and allowed to move when the battery is removed from the batteryhousing section.

The electronic apparatus of the present invention has anelectronic-component housing section cover whose movement is allowedwhen the battery is removed from the battery housing section. Therefore,there is required such an operational procedure that the battery isfirst removed and then the electronic-component housing section cover isdetached to replace the electronic component at the time of maintenanceand the like. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent deterioration of ordamage to the electronic apparatus due to the power supplied by thebattery, which result from the electronic component being replacedbefore the battery is removed.

Here, it is preferable that the electronic-component housing sectioncover is movable between a locked position for prohibiting detachmentthereof and an unlocked position for allowing detachment thereof, and isprohibited from moving from the locked position to the unlocked positionwhen the battery is housed in the battery housing section and allowed tomove from the locked position to the unlocked position when the batteryis removed from the battery housing section.

According to this additional feature, the electronic-component housingsection cover is in the locked position when the battery is inserted.Therefore it is possible to further reliably prevent theelectronic-component housing section cover from moving when the batteryis inserted.

It is also preferable that a battery insertion and removable surface ofthe battery housing section and an attachment surface of the electroniccomponent housing section, to which surface the electronic-componenthousing section cover is attached, are flush with a surface of theelectronic apparatus.

According to this additional feature, a portion (sliding margin), whichallows movement of the electronic-component housing section cover fromthe locked state for prohibiting the movement to the unlocked state forallowing the movement, is on the battery attachment and detachmentsurface. Therefore, the sliding margin is covered by the battery therebyimproving the outer appearance. In addition, it is also possible toimprove workability for replacing the electronic component at the timeof maintenance and the like.

It is further preferable that an exposed surface of the battery housedin the battery housing section and the electronic-component housingsection cover form a part of an enclosure defining an outer shape of theelectronic apparatus.

This additional feature makes it possible to reduce the cost of theelectronic apparatus because the amount of a material for forming theenclosure is small.

It is also preferable that the electronic apparatus further includes:

a second electronic-component housing section that houses a secondremovable electronic component that operates with power supplied by thebattery housed in the battery housing section; and

a second electronic-component housing section cover that covers thesecond electronic component housed in the second electronic componenthousing section and is prohibited from moving when the battery is housedin the battery housing section and allowed to move when the battery isremoved from the battery housing section.

According to this additional feature, there is required such anoperational procedure that the battery is first removed and then thesecond electronic-component housing section cover is detached to replacethe second electronic component at the time of maintenance and the like.Therefore, it is possible to arrange the second electronic componenteven at a position away from the battery housing section, as long assuch a position is adjacent to the first electronic component disposednext to the battery housing section. Accordingly, the electroniccomponents can be more freely arranged.

In this electronic apparatus, it is preferable that the secondelectronic-component housing section cover is movable between a lockedposition for prohibiting detachment thereof and an unlocked position forallowing detachment thereof and is prohibited from moving from thelocked position to the unlocked position when the battery is housed inthe battery housing section and allowed to move from the locked positionto the unlocked position when the battery is removed from the batteryhousing section.

According to this additional feature, since the secondelectronic-component housing section cover is in the locked positionwhen the second electronic-component housing section cover is attached,it is possible to more reliably prevent the movement of the secondelectronic-component housing section cover.

In addition, it is also preferable that the electronic apparatus furtherincludes a data-processing unit provided with a built-in data-processingcircuit that carries out data processing and a keyboard disposed on atop surface of the data-processing unit to input an instructionaccording to an operation,

wherein the battery insertion and removable surface of the batteryhousing section is formed on an undersurface of the data-processingunit.

According to this additional feature, the keyboard is disposed on thetop surface of the data-processing unit and the battery insertion andremovable surface of the battery housing section is formed on theundersurface of the data-processing unit. Therefore, it is possible tomake the electronic apparatus compact.

It is further preferable that the electronic apparatus further includes,in addition to the data-processing unit, a display unit that includes adisplay screen for displaying information and is linked to thedata-processing unit in an openable and closable manner.

This additional feature makes it possible to apply the present inventionto, for example, a notebook type of personal computer or the like.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide anelectronic apparatus capable of preventing an electronic component fromdeteriorating or being damaged at the time of maintenance and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of outer appearance of a notebook PC in anopen state;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the notebook PC illustrated in FIG. 1 ina closed state;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the under surface of the notebook PCillustrated in FIG. 1 in the closed state;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of the under surface of the mainunit of a notebook PC with the battery being disengaged;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the under surface of the mainunit from which a battery and an HDD housing section cover are removed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a claw section of the HDD housing sectioncover;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an engagement section of the HDD housingsection cover;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the under surface in the closed state ofa notebook PC, which is different from the notebook PC illustrated inFIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the under surface of the main unit ofthe notebook PC illustrated in FIG. 8 from which a battery, an HDDhousing section cover and a memory-substrate housing section cover areremoved;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an HDD to which an HDD mounting part isattached as viewed from above;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the HDD to which the HDD mounting partis attached as viewed from below;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the notebook PC from which a frontframe of a display unit is removed;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a hinge member as well as apanel attaching member illustrated in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating how a display panel is removed fromthe display unit;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the first circuit substrate with arelatively small area, which is removed from the display unit;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second circuit substrate forlighting the display panel, which is provided with two light sourcesemitting backlight;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a part of the first supporting structureand a part of the first circuit substrate supported by the firstsupporting structure;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the notebook PC as viewed from the leftside in an open state;

FIG. 19 is a perspective diagram of a CD/DVD drive unit removed from themain unit of the notebook PC;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the rear surface of the frame bodyremoved from a tray;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the front-end surface of the tray withthe frame body being removed;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a heat radiating unit provided in themain unit;

FIG. 23 is a diagram of the heat radiating unit illustrated in FIG. 22as viewed from below; and

FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of the heat radiating unitillustrated in FIG. 23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In thefollowing description, a notebook PC will be employed as an example ofthe electronic apparatus according to the present invention.

[Entire Configuration]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the outer appearance of a notebook PC 1in an open state; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the notebook PC 1 in aclosed state; and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the under surface ofthe notebook PC 1 in a closed state.

The notebook PC 1 is configured by a main unit 10 and a display unit 20.The display unit 20 is connected to the main unit 10 with a hinge member30 and can be changed between a closed state (see FIG. 2) in which thedisplay unit 20 lies on the main unit 10 and an open state (see FIG. 1)in which the display unit 20 is open with respect to the main unit 10.

Arranged on the top surface of the main unit 10 are: a keyboard 11 forinputting instructions according to operations; a track pad 12, one typeof pointing devises, for specifying an arbitrary point on a displayscreen 21 a (described later) according to operations; and an engagementhole 13 in which a hook 221 for locking is inserted.

In addition, the main unit 10 is provided with a CD/DVD drive unit 14 onits left flak as illustrated in FIG. 1 which drives a storage mediumsuch as a CD or DVD when it is loaded with the storage medium.

Moreover, the main unit 10 is provided with a CPU and a large number ofelectronic components so as to carry out various kinds of operations byexecuting programs.

In addition, the main unit 10 is provided with a heat radiating unit(described later) for absorbing heat generated by the CPU and the like.

The display screen 21 a, a part of a display panel 21, is arranged onthe front surface of the display unit 20, and the periphery of thedisplay screen 21 a is covered by a front frame 26. In addition, thehook 221 for locking is provided on the front surface of the displayunit 20. Specifically, the hook 221 is provided above the upper edge ofthe display screen 21 a in such a manner that the hook 221 protrudesfrom the front frame 26. The hook 221 enters the engagement hole 13formed on the top surface of the main unit 10 when the display unit 20is closed to lie on the main unit 10. The hook 221 is locked inside theengagement hole 13 so that the display unit 20 cannot be accidentallyopened.

Moreover, an unlocking operation member 222 is arranged on the topsurface of the display unit 20. When the operation member 222 is pushedin the closed state as illustrated in FIG. 2, the hook 221 moves in theunlocking direction so that the hook 221 is disengaged from theengagement hole 13 and the display unit 20 can be opened.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, arranged on the under surface ofthe main unit 10 as components required for later description are: abattery 15 for supplying built-in electronic components of the main unit10 with power; an HDD housing section cover 16 for covering the HDDhousing section where a hard-disk drive unit (hereinafter referred to asHDD) is housed; and a memory-substrate housing section cover 17 forcovering the memory substrate housing section where a memory substratemounted with a memory is housed.

So far, the notebook PC in its entirety has been describedschematically. Now, each section of the notebook PC will be described indetail.

[Structure of HDD Housing Section Cover]

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of the under surface of the mainunit of the notebook PC from which the battery is removed, and FIG. 5 isa diagram illustrating a part of the under surface of the main unit fromwhich the battery and the HDD housing section cover are removed.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the battery 15 is removed from the undersurface of the main unit 10 of the notebook PC 1, there appears thebattery housing section 10 a provided in the enclosure of the main unit10 to house the removable battery 15. In addition, as illustrated inFIG. 5, when the HDD housing section cover 16 is removed as will bedescribed later from the under surface of the main unit 10 of thenotebook PC 1 in the state where the battery 15 is removed, the HDD 40housed in the HDD housing section 10 b provided in the enclosure of themain unit 10 appears. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the HDDhousing section cover 16 has a claw section 16 a and an engagementsection 16 b.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the claw section 16 a of the HDD housingsection cover 16, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the engagementsection 16 b of the HDD housing section cover 16.

The claw section 16 a of the HDD housing section cover illustrated inFIG. 6 is to be engaged with an engagement section of the HDD housingsection 10 b. In addition, the engagement section 16 b of the HDDhousing section cover 16 illustrated in FIG. 7 is to be engaged with aclaw section of the HDD housing section 10 b. Specifically, the HDDhousing section cover 16 covers the HDD 40 housed in the HDD housingsection 10 b and can move between the locked position where detachmentis not allowed and the unlocked position where detachment is allowedthereby preventing a shift from the locked position to the unlockedposition in the state where the battery 15 is housed in the batteryhousing section 10 a. In other words, a shift from the locked positionto the unlocked position is allowed only in the state where the battery15 is removed from the battery housing section 10 a. More specifically,in the state where the battery 15 is housed in the battery housingsection 10 a, the claw section 16 a of the HDD housing section cover 16is engaged with the engagement section of the HDD housing section 10 b,and the engagement section 16 b of the HDD housing section cover 16 isengaged with the claw section of the HDD housing section 10 b andaccordingly, the HDD housing section cover 16 is in the locked positionwhere detachment is not allowed. Here, the battery 15 is removed fromthe battery housing section 10 a and the HDD housing section cover 16 ismoved to the right side in FIG. 5. Then, the claw section 16 a of theHDD housing section cover 16 is disengaged from the engagement sectionof the HDD housing section 10 b, and the engagement section 16 b of theHDD housing section cover 16 is also disengaged from the claw section ofthe HDD housing section 10 b, thereby allowing the HDD housing sectioncover 16 to move from the locked position to the unlocked position.

Here, in the case of a conventional notebook PC, an HDD housing sectioncover is removed to replace an HDD without removing the battery. In thiscase, at the time of maintenance and the like, it is very likely that auser/operator may remove the HDD without being aware that the power ofthe notebook PC is still turned on by mistake or due to failure and thelike. In such a case, if the HDD is attached or detached, the HDD may bedeteriorated or damaged by the power supplied from the battery. In thepresent embodiment, the following operational procedure is required toreplace the HDD 40: first-the battery 15 is removed and subsequently,the HDD housing section cover 16 is removed and finally, the HDD 40 isreplaced. This procedure does not allow the HDD 40 to be taken out priorto removal of the battery 15, thereby preventing the HDD 40 from beingdeteriorated and damaged due to the power supplied from the battery 15.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the battery insertion and removalsurface of the battery housing section 10 a and the attachment surfaceof the HDD housing section cover 16 are formed to be flush with asurface (under surface) of the notebook PC 1. Therefore, it is possibleto improve workability when the HDD 40 is replaced at the time ofmaintenance and the like. Further, on the under surface side of thenotebook PC 1, the portion (sliding margin) which allows the HDD housingsection cover 16 to slide from the locked position where detachment isnot allowed to the unlocked position where detachment is allowed, iscovered by the battery 15. Therefore, outer appearance is improved.Moreover, the exposed surface of the battery 15 and the HDD housingsection cover 16 form a part of the main unit 10 demarcating the outershape of the notebook PC 1 and therefore, the amount of material to formthe main unit 10 can be made small. Accordingly, the cost formanufacturing the notebook PC 1 can be reduced.

As described above, in the notebook PC 1, the HDD housing section cover16 cannot be detached unless the battery 15 is in the state of beingremoved, and the sliding margin that allows the HDD housing sectioncover 16 to move is covered by the battery 15. Nevertheless, thememory-substrate housing section cover 17 (see FIG. 3) can be removed bybeing slid in the upper left direction in FIG. 3 even if the HDD housingsection cover 16 is not in the state of being removed. In addition, thesliding margin that allows the memory-substrate housing section cover 17to move is on the under surface of the notebook PC 1.

Now, with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, there will be described amodification in which the memory-substrate housing section cover 17cannot be removed unless the HDD housing section cover 16 is removed andthe sliding margin that allows the memory-substrate housing sectioncover 17 to move is covered by the battery 15.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the under surface of a notebook PC inthe closed state, which is different from the notebook PC illustrated inFIG. 3, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the under surface of themain unit of the notebook PC illustrated in FIG. 8 with the battery, theHDD housing section cover and the memory-substrate housing section coverbeing removed.

Incidentally, the same components of the modification as those shown inFIG. 3 are assigned the same reference characters as those shown in FIG.3 and only the points different from FIG. 3 will be described.

A notebook PC 2 illustrated in FIG. 8 is provided with amemory-substrate housing section cover 18. This memory-substrate housingsection cover 18 covers a memory substrate 19 in which a memory 19 aillustrated in FIG. 9 is packaged and which is removably housed in thememory substrate housing section 10 c. In addition, movement of thememory-substrate housing section cover 18 from a locked position to anunlocked position is not allowed in the state where the HDD housingsection cover 16 is mounted, whereas movement from the locked positionto the unlocked position is allowed in the state where the HDD housingsection cover 16 is removed. Therefore, in order to replace the memorysubstrate 19 at the time of maintenance and the like, the followingoperational procedure is required: first the battery 15 is removed andthen, the HDD housing section cover 16 is removed and finally, thememory-substrate housing section cover 18 is removed to replace thememory substrate 19. Accordingly, it is possible to preventdeterioration of and damage to electronic components such as the memory19 a packaged in the memory substrate 19 due to power supplied from thebattery 15. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 8, a portion A (slidingmargin) on the under surface of the notebook PC 1 that allows thememory-substrate housing section cover 18 to move from the lockedposition where removal is not allowed to the unlocked position whereremoval is allowed is covered by the memory-substrate housing sectioncover 18 and therefore, outer appearance is improved.

This concludes the description of the modification with reference toFIG. 8 and FIG. 9. Now the description of the notebook PC 1 shown inFigures except for FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 will be resumed and continued.

[HDD Mounting Part]

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the HDD to which an HDD mounting partis attached as viewed from above. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of theHDD to which the HDD mounting part is attached as viewed from below.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, an HDD mounting part 41 isattached to an HDD 40. The HDD 40 has both sides 40 a and 40 a′ and afront end 40 b and a rear end 40 c as illustrated in FIG. 10. The HDDmounting part 41 is formed integrally with a metal sheet by molding.Accordingly, the cost for manufacturing the HDD mounting part 41 can bereduced thereby realizing reduction in thickness and weight. Inaddition, it is also realized that the HDD mounting part 41 is providedwith spring property.

The HDD mounting part 41 has a pair of component fixing sections 41 aand 41 a′ extending along both sides 40 a and 40 a′, being fixed to theHDD 40 and having width of not more than the height of the HDD 40.

In addition, the HDD mounting part 41 has first HDD fixing sections 41 band 41 b′ that extend from the pair of component fixing sections 41 aand 41 a′ up to positions apart from the front end 40 b of the HDD 40and fixed to the main unit 10 of the notebook PC 1.

Moreover, the HDD mounting part 41 has a second HDD fixing section 41 cthat extends from the pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′up to a position apart from the rear end 40 c of the HDD 40 and fixed tothe main unit 10.

The HDD mounting part 41 extends along both of the sides 40 a and 40 a′of the HDD 40 and fixes the HDD 40 with the pair of component fixingsections 41 a and 41 a′ having width of not more than the height of theHDD 40. Therefore, the HDD mounting part 41 prevents an increase in thethickness of the notebook PC 1. Accordingly, as compared with aconventional technique for disposing the top panel on the top surface ofan HDD, the HDD mounting part 41 contributes to a reduction in thethickness of the notebook PC 1.

In addition, the HDD mounting part 41 has, as described above, the firstand second HDD fixing sections 41 b, 41 b′ and 41 c that extend from thepair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′ up to the respectivepositions apart from the front end 40 b and the rear end 40 c of the HDD40. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 11, a deflection arm A providedwith so-called spring property is formed. Accordingly, even in the casewhere vibration and impact are externally applied to the HDD 40 fixed bythe HDD mounting part 41, those vibration and impact can be absorbed bythe deflection arm A. On the contrary, even if the HDD 40 fixed by theHDD mounting part 41 generates vibration, that vibration can be absorbedby the deflection arm A as well.

Moreover, the pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′ alsohave: first portions 41 a_1 and 41 a′_1 extending along but apart fromthe sides 40 a and 40 a′ of the HDD 40; and second portions 41 a_2 and41 a′_2 sagging from the first portions 41 a_1 and 41 a′_1 toward thesides 40 a and 40 a′ to be in contact with the sides 40 a and 40 a′ andfixed to the HDD 40. Therefore, even in the case where the sides 40 aand 40 a′ of the HDD 40 are uneven and tolerance thereof is large, thoseunevenness and tolerance are absorbed at the first portions 41 a_1 and41 a′_1 and the HDD 40 is securely fixed at the second portions 41 a_2and 41 a′_2.

In other words, the pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′respectively have side-along portions (a portion formed by the firstportions 41 a_1, 41 a′_1 and the second portions 41 a_2, 41 a′_2) thatextend from the front end 40 b to the rear end 40 c of the HDD 40 alongthe sides 40 a and 40 a′ of the HDD 40. The pair of component fixingsections 41 a and 41 a′ also respectively have front-end side bendingportions (first HDD fixing sections 41 b and 41 b′) that extend from theside-along portions and bend toward the front end 40 b to cover a partof the front end 40 b. The pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41a′ also have a rear-end side bending portion (second HDD fixing section41 c) that extend from the side-along portions and bends toward the rearend 40 c of the HDD 40 to cover a part of that rear end 40 c.

The second HDD fixing section 41 c is a single portion that extends fromboth of the pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′, and thefirst HDD fixing sections 41 b and 41 b′ are portions that extend fromthe pair of component fixing sections 41 a and 41 a′, respectively.

[Contact Structure of Hinge Member and Panel Attaching Member]

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the notebook PC 1 with the front frameof the display unit 20 being removed.

FIG. 12 illustrates the display unit 20 provided with the display panel21 including the display screen 21 a for displaying information in thestate where the front surface of that display screen 21 a is exposed. Inaddition, the hinge member 30 bridging the display unit 20 and the mainunit 10 in an openable and closable manner is illustrated. Moreover, apanel attaching member 50 which intervenes for fastening the displaypanel 21 to the display unit 20 is illustrated. In addition, in FIG. 12,a circuit substrate 60 for lighting the display panel 21 (describedlater) is also illustrated.

FIG. 13 is a perspective enlarged view of the hinge member 30 as well asa panel attaching member 50 illustrated in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 illustrates a hinge fastening section 31 of the hinge member 30.The hinge fastening section 31 is fastened to the display unit 20. Inaddition, FIG. 13 illustrates a panel fastening section 51 of the panelattaching member 50. The panel fastening section 51 extends along and isfastened to the side of the display panel 21.

Specifically, the panel fastening section 51 of the panel attachingmember 50 extends toward the main unit 10 to be arranged adjacent to thehinge fastening section 31, and fastened to the display unit 20independently of the hinge fastening section 31. In addition, the panelfastening section 51 partially has a tongue piece 51 a that extendstoward and contacts the hinge fastening section while overlaying thehinge fastening section 31 from the front surface side of the displayscreen.

In the notebook PC 1, the hinge member 30, which links the display unit20 to the main unit 10 in an openable and closable manner, is fastenedto the display unit 20 with the hinge fastening section 31 of the hingemember 30, and the panel attaching member 50, which has the panelfastening section 51 fixed to the side of the display panel 21 a, isfastened to the display unit 20 independently of the hinge fasteningsection 31. In other words, the hinge fastening section 31 of the hingemember 30 and the panel fastening section 51 of the panel attachingmember 50 are attached to the display unit 20 separately. In addition,the panel fastening section 51 has the tongue piece 51 a. As illustratedin FIG. 13, the tongue piece 51 a is small in shape and thickness tomerely touch the hinge fastening section 31. Therefore, dimension in thedirection of thickness of the display unit 20 is made small andaccordingly contributes to reduction in thickness of the notebook PC 1.In addition, in order to replace the display panel 21, there is no needto remove the hinge fastening section 31 of the hinge member 30, butonly the panel fastening section 51 of the panel attaching member 50needs to be removed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating how the display panel 21 is removedfrom the display unit 10.

In order to remove the display panel 21 from the display unit 20, asillustrated in FIG. 14, there is no need to remove the hinge fasteningsection 31 of the hinge member 30, but only the panel fastening section51 of the panel attaching member 50 needs to be removed. Accordingly,when replacing the display panel 21, there is no need to adjust thehinge member 30 to reach an attachment state and the display panel 21can be replaced easily.

In addition, the hinge fastening section 31 of the hinge member 30 andthe panel fastening section 51 of the panel attaching member 50 are bothmade of metal that is an electrically conductive material andelectrically conduct with the tongue piece 51 a. Therefore, conductionof the main unit 10 and the display unit 20 to the ground can be securedthrough the contact by the tongue piece 51 a. Accordingly, there is noneed to additionally provide a ground for the main unit 10 and thedisplay unit 20 by using an electrically conductive member such asgasket and metal spring, for the purpose of preventing electromagneticnoise and electrostatic noise, thereby reducing the cost. Incidentally,there may be a case where conduction of the main unit 10 and the displayunit 20 to the ground is not basically required as countermeasuresagainst electromagnetic noise and electrostatic noise. In such a case,the tongue piece 51 a can be easily removed so that conduction of themain unit 10 and the display unit 20 to the ground can be readily cutoff.

In addition, the display unit 20 has an area larger than thecircumference of the display panel 21 and has a back plate 23 thathouses the display panel 21 (see FIG. 14) and the front frame 26 thatcovers the periphery of the display panel 21 from the front surface sideof the display screen 21 a (see FIG. 1). Moreover, as illustrated inFIG. 13, the hinge fastening section 31 has: a first hole 33 a forscrewing the back plate 23 and the hinge fastening section 31 with ascrew 32 except the front frame 26; and a second hole 33 b for screwingthe hinge fastening section 31, the back plate 23 and the front frame 26in the state where the hinge fastening section 31 is sandwiched betweenthe back plate 23 and the front frame 26. Therefore, when the notebookPC 1 is assembled, the back plate 23 and the hinge fastening section 31are temporarily fastened by means of the first hole 33 a with a screwand then, the front frame 26, the hinge fastening section 31 and theback plate 23 can be completely fastened by means of the second hole 33b with a screw in the state where the hinge fastening section 31 issandwiched between the back plate 23 and the front frame 26.Accordingly, the notebook PC 1 can be easily assembled.

Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the panel fastening section 51 goesaround the hinge fastening section 31 and is positioned closer to themain unit 10 than the hinge fastening section 31 is. Therefore, thedisplay unit 20 is provided with a sufficiently large display panel 21.

[Cross Structure of Hinge Member and Panel Attaching Member]

As described with reference to FIG. 12, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the panelattaching member 50 attached to the display panel 21 has the panelfastening section 51 that extends along the side surface of the displaypanel 21 toward the main unit 10 and goes around the hinge fasteningsection 31 fastened to the display unit 20, so that the panel fasteningsection 51 is positioned at the main unit 10 side of the hinge fasteningsection 31 and fastened to the display unit 20. That is, the panelfastening section 51 extends along the side surface of the display unit20 until it reaches the lower part of the display unit 20. In thisstructure, when the display unit 20 is opened and closed with respect tothe main unit 10, a large load applied to the lower section of thedisplay unit 20 is received by the panel fastening section 51.Accordingly, while reduction in thickness of the notebook PC 1 isrealized, strength in the lower section of the display unit 20 isenhanced so as to prevent the lower section of the display unit 20 frombeing damaged.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the hinge member 30 has a shaftsection 33 having a rotary shaft. In addition, the hinge fasteningsection 31 is attached to an end of the rotary shaft of the shaftsection 33 and is fastened to the display unit 20 at such a positionthat the hinge fastening section 31 is farther away from the main unit10 than the shaft section 33 is. Therefore, the panel fastening section51 used for fastening the display panel 21 is fastened to the displayunit 20 at a position closer to the main unit 10 while avoidinginterference with the hinge fastening section 31.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the panel fastening section 51goes around toward the main unit 10 side of the hinge fastening section31 and is fastened to the display unit 20 at a position up to which theshaft section 33 extends in the direction of the rotary shaft.Therefore, the extended portion of the shaft section 33 of the hingemember 30 is made stronger so that the display unit 20 can be smoothlyopened and closed.

Moreover, the hinge fastening section 31 and the panel fastening section51 are fastened to the display unit 20 independently of each other.Therefore, as described above, to replace the display panel 21, only thepanel fastening section 51 has to be removed. Therefore, the displaypanel 21 can be easily replaced.

In addition, the panel fastening section 51 is provided with the tonguepiece 51 a that extends toward the hinge fastening section 31 to touchthe hinge fastening section 31 that overlays the hinge fastening section31 from above (i.e. from the front surface side of the display screen 21a). Here, the hinge fastening section 31 and the panel fastening section51 are both made of metal and brought into electrical contact with thetongue piece 51 a. Accordingly, there is no need to additionally providea ground for the main unit 10 and the display unit 20 by using anelectrically conductive member such as gasket and metal spring, for thepurpose of preventing electromagnetic noise and electrostatic noise,thereby reducing the cost. Incidentally, there may be a case whereconduction of the main unit 10 and the display unit 20 to the ground isnot basically required as countermeasures against electromagnetic noiseand electrostatic noise. In such a case, the tongue piece 51 a can beeasily removed so that conduction of the main unit 10 and the displayunit 20 to the ground can be readily cut off.

Moreover, the display unit 20 has an area larger than the display panel21, and has the back plate 23 that houses the display panel 21 and thefront frame 26 that covers the periphery of that display panel 21 fromthe front surface side of the display screen 21 a. In addition, thehinge fastening section 31 has: the first hole 33 a for screwing theback plate 23 and the panel fastening section 31 except the front frame26 with a screw 32; and the second hole 33 b for screwing the panelfastening section 31, the back plate 23 and the front frame 26, in thestate where the panel fastening part 31 is interposed between the backplate 23 and the front frame 26. Therefore, for assembling the notebookPC 1, the back plate 23 and the hinge fastening section 31 aretemporarily fastened by means of the first hole 33 a with the screw 32and then, the front frame 26, the hinge fastening section 31 and theback plate 23 can be completely fastened by means of the second hole 33b with a screw in the state where the hinge fastening section 31 isinterposed between the back plate 23 and the front frame 26 with thesecond hole 33 b. Accordingly, the notebook PC 1 can be assembledeasily.

[Fixing Structure of Display Panel Lighting Circuit Substrate]

For assembling the notebook PC 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, a display panelthat matches the model and function of the notebook PC 1 is selected andthe display unit 20 is provided with the selected display panel.Specifically, the display unit 20 is provided with one display panelselected from a first display panel having one light source that emitslight for backlighting and a second display panel having two lightsources that emit light for backlighting. Therefore, there are prepareda first circuit substrate with a relatively small area to be selectedwhen the first display panel is selected and a second circuit substratewith a relatively large area to be selected when the second displaypanel is selected.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a first circuit substrate 60 with arelatively small area being removed from the display unit.

Here, the display panel 21 is equivalent to the first display panelprovided with one light source emitting light for backlighting. FIG. 15illustrates a first circuit substrate 60 with a relatively small areafor lighting the display panel 21. A lighting control circuit 61composed of electronic components to control lighting of the one lightsource is mounted onto the first circuit substrate 60.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second circuit substrate 70 forlighting the display panel provided with two light sources that emitlight for backlighting.

A lighting control circuit 71 composed of electronic components tocontrol lighting of the two light sources is mounted onto the secondcircuit substrate 70 illustrated in FIG. 16. That is, since electroniccomponents for two lights are mounted on the second circuit substrate70, dimensions including width and length of the second circuitsubstrate 70 are larger than the first circuit substrate 60.Incidentally, in both of the first circuit substrate 60 and the secondcircuit substrate 70, the height of the components mounted on the frontsurface of the substrate is higher than that of the components mountedon the rear side of the substrate. In addition, on the rear side of thesubstrate, only wiring may be formed and the components may not bemounted.

Now, referring back to FIG. 15, description will be continued. Thedisplay unit 20 illustrated in FIG. 15 is provided with a firstsupporting structure 81 supporting the first circuit substrate 60 and asubstrate supporting section 80 having a second supporting structure 82supporting the second circuit substrate 70.

The first supporting structure 81 has a supporting claw 81 a supportingthe first circuit substrate 60 in the state where the front surface ofthe first circuit substrate 60 is directed upward. In addition, thefirst supporting structure 81 has a receiving section 81 b receiving therear surface of the first circuit substrate 60.

On the other hand, the second supporting structure 82 has a stand 82 aon which the second circuit substrate 70 is mounted in the state wherethe front surface of the second circuit substrate 70 is directeddownward.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a part of the first supporting structureand a part of the first circuit substrate supported by the firstsupporting structure.

The first circuit substrate 60 illustrated in FIG. 17 is supported bythe supporting claw 81 a of the first supporting structure 81 in thestate where the front surface of the first circuit substrate 60 isdirected upward. On the other hand, the second circuit substrate 70 isput on the stand 82 a of the second supporting structure 82 in the statewhere the front surface of the second circuit substrate 70 is directeddownward.

Thus, the substrate supporting section 80 has the first supportingstructure 81 supporting the first circuit substrate 60 with a relativelysmall area and the second supporting structure 82 supporting the secondcircuit substrate 70 with a relatively large area. Therefore, whicheverthe first circuit substrate 60 or the second circuit substrate 70 isselected, the selected circuit substrate can be supported by the circuitsupporting section 80 which is a single member. Accordingly, the spaceof the display unit 20 can be made smaller as compared with the casewhere the display unit 20 having the display panel 21 built therein isprovided with both of the substrate supporting section for supportingthe first circuit substrate 60 and the substrate supporting section forsupporting the second circuit substrate 70 separately.

In addition, in the case where the first circuit substrate 60 isselected, the front surface of the first circuit substrate 60 isdirected upward and the first circuit substrate 60 is supported by thenail 81 a of the first supporting structure 81. In the case where thesecond circuit substrate 70 is selected, the front surface of the secondcircuit substrate 70 is directed downward and the second circuitsubstrate 70 is supported by the stand 82 a of the second supportingstructure 82. By adopting such a structure, the upper and lower space ofthe substrate supporting section 80 is utilized effectively so that anycircuit substrate selected from the first and second circuit substrates60 and 70 can be supported.

In addition, the display unit 20 has the back plate 23 with an arealarger than the display panel for housing the display panel and thefront frame 26 covering the periphery of the display panel from thefront surface side of the display screen. The substrate supportingsection 80 is provided at such a position of the back plate 23 that thesubstrate supporting section 80 avoids overlapping the display panel.Such a structure contributes to reduction in thickness as compared witha case where the substrate supporting section 80 is disposed at such aposition that the substrate supporting section 80 overlaps the displaypanel. In addition, the circuit substrate supported by the substratesupporting section 80 and the display panel are connected to each otherwith comparatively short wiring.

[Structure of Frame Body and Button of CD/DVD Drive Unit]

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the notebook PC 1 as viewed from theleft side in an open state. FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a CD/DVDdrive unit 14 removed from the main unit 10 of the notebook PC 1.

The main unit 10 illustrated in FIG. 18 is provided, on its left side,with the CD/DVD drive unit 14 in which a storage medium such as CD andDVD is loaded and which drives the loaded storage medium.

The CD/DVD drive unit 14 is provided with a tray 141, in which aremovable storage medium is loaded and which drives the loaded storagemedium, and a housing body 142 that houses the tray 141 illustrated inFIG. 19 in a slidable manner. In addition, the CD/DVD drive unit 14 isprovided with a frame body 143 that covers the front-end surface of thehousing body 142 where the tray 141 slides out from the housing body142. The frame body 143 forms a part of the main unit 10 of the notebookPC 1 when the CD/DVD drive unit 14 is mounted onto the notebook PC 1.The frame body 143 has a flexible portion 143 a that will be describedlater. In addition, the frame body 143 has an opening 143 b for causingthe tray 141 to slide out from the housing body 142 with a tool at thetime of maintenance. Description will be continued with reference toFIG. 20 and FIG. 21.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the rear surface of the frame body 143removed from the tray 141. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating thefront-end surface of the tray 141 with the frame body 143 being removed.

The front surface of the tray 141 illustrated in FIG. 21 is providedwith a button 141 a that causes the tray 141 to slide out from thehousing body 142 when pressed. In addition, the flexible portion 143 aof the frame body 143 has, as illustrated in FIG. 20, a protrusion 143 cthat protrudes toward the tray 141 on the rear surface of the frame body143 facing the tray 141 and is positioned adjacent to the button 141 a.When externally pressed, the flexible portion 143 a deflects toward thetray 141 so that the tip of the protrusion 143 c pushes the button 141a. As a result, the tray 141 slides out from the housing body 142. Here,the frame body 143 is provided with the flexible portion 143 a thatdeflects toward the tray 141 and the protrusion 143 c that pushes thebutton 141 a, and the frame body 143 is integrally formed by molding,thereby reducing the cost. In addition, the button 141 a provided in thetray 141 is depressed by the tip of the protrusion 143 c provided in therear surface of the frame body 143. Such a structure makes it possibleto arrange the tray 141 at a position sufficiently deeper than the framebody 143. Accordingly, even if the frame body 143 deflects toward thetray 141, the tray 141 is hardly visible through a gap formed due to thedeflection, which prevents impairment of the outer appearance.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the frame body 143 has aslit 143 d which extends along a contour line of the frame body 143while surrounding the protrusion 143 c to define the flexible portion143 a except a partial area of the contour line. The slit 143 d isformed through the frame body 143 to appear on the front and rearsurfaces of the frame body 143. In addition, the flexible portion 143 ais designed to, upon being pressed, deflect thereby elastically bendingat the partial region. Therefore, the flexible portion 143 a of theframe body 143 is formed in a simply manner.

In addition, the frame body 143 has a rib 143 e that stands on its rearsurface facing the tray 141 and abuts the front-end surface of the tray141. Therefore, weight as well as material cost of the frame body 143 isreduced while high strength of the frame body 143 is maintained.

Moreover, the frame body 143 is a molded resin product obtained byintegrally molding the entire frame body 143 including the flexibleportion 143 a. Therefore, manufacturing cost of the CD/DVD drive unit 14is reduced.

[Structure of Heat Radiating Unit]

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a heat radiating unit 90 provided inthe main unit. FIG. 23 is a diagram of the heat radiating unit 90illustrated in FIG. 22 as viewed from back. FIG. 24 is an explodedperspective view of the heat radiating unit 90 illustrated in FIG. 23.

The heat radiating unit 90 illustrated in FIG. 22 is disposed on acircuit substrate 100 of the main unit 10. A heat-producing componentsuch as a CPU is mounted on the circuit substrate 100. The heatradiating unit 90 is provided with a fan 91 for blowing air and a heatradiating member 92 made of metal with heat radiating fins 92 a arrangedto transfer heat to the passing air.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, the heat radiatingunit 90 has a fan fixing section 93 where the fan 91 is fixed and ametal-made supporting member 95 having a heat-radiating-member biasingsection 94 disposed between the fan fixing section 93 and an air outlet101 (see FIG. 22). The heat-radiating-member biasing section 94 has anopening facing downward, i.e. facing the direction opposite to thecircuit substrate 100 and biases the heat radiating member 92 toward thecircuit substrate 100. The metal-made supporting member 95 forms anairflow path in cooperation with the main unit 10.

Here, the heat radiating member 92 has, on its undersurface, anendothermic section 92 b for contacting the top surface of a firstheat-producing component disposed on the circuit substrate 100 so as toabsorb heat from the first heat-producing component.

In addition, the supporting member 95 has an endothermic arm 95 a thatextends toward and contacts the top surface of a second heat-producingcomponent on the circuit substrate 100 so as to absorb heat from thesecond heat-producing component. The second heat-producing component andthe first heat-producing component have the top surfaces of differentheights.

In the heat radiating unit 90, heat generated by the firstheat-producing component is absorbed by the endothermic section 92 b ofthe heat radiating member 92, and heat generated by the secondheat-producing component whose top surface has a height different fromthat of the first heat-producing component is absorbed by theendothermic arm 95 a of the supporting member 95. Accordingly, heatgenerated by both the first and the second heat-producing componentshaving the top surfaces of different heights can be absorbed with asimple structure.

In addition, the heat-radiating-member biasing section 94 is providedwith a plate spring 94 a having a deforming stroke for providing a forcetoward the top surface of the first heat-producing component. Therefore,the heat radiating member 92 is securely pressed against and abuts thetop surface of the first exothermic member.

When assembling the notebook PC illustrated in FIG. 1, there is a casewhere a component that matches the model and function of the notebook PCis selected as the first heat-producing component from among two or moretypes of heat-producing components (CPU, for example) having differentheights, and the selected first heat-producing component is mounted onthe circuit substrate 100. Even in such a case, the heat radiatingmember 92 can be securely pressed against and abut the top surface ofthe selected first heat-producing component by the plate spring 94 a.

In addition, as described above, the heat radiating member 92 and thesupporting member 95 are both made of metal and thus can absorb the heatgenerated by the first and second heat-producing components having thetop surfaces of different heights.

1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a battery housing section that houses a removable battery; an electronic component housing section that houses a removable electronic component that operates with power supplied by the battery housed in the battery housing section; and an electronic-component housing section cover that covers the electronic component housed in the electronic component housing section and is prohibited from moving when the battery is housed in the battery housing section and allowed to move when the battery is removed from the battery housing section.
 2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic-component housing section cover is movable between a locked position for prohibiting detachment thereof and an unlocked position for allowing detachment thereof, and is prohibited from moving from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is housed in the battery housing section and allowed to move from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is removed from the battery housing section.
 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a battery insertion and removable surface of the battery housing section and an attachment surface of the electronic component housing section, to which surface the electronic-component housing section cover is attached, are flush with a surface of the electronic apparatus.
 4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an exposed surface of the battery housed in the battery housing section and the electronic-component housing section cover form a part of an enclosure defining an outer shape of the electronic apparatus.
 5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second electronic-component housing section that houses a second removable electronic component that operates with power supplied by the battery housed in the battery housing section; and a second electronic-component housing section cover that covers the second electronic component housed in the second electronic component housing section and is prohibited from moving when the battery is housed in the battery housing section and allowed to move when the battery is removed from the battery housing section.
 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second electronic-component housing section cover is movable between a locked position for prohibiting detachment thereof and an unlocked position for allowing detachment thereof and is prohibited from moving from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is housed in the battery housing section and allowed to move from the locked position to the unlocked position when the battery is removed from the battery housing section.
 7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a data-processing unit provided with a built-in data-processing circuit that carries out data processing and a keyboard disposed on a top surface of the data-processing unit to input an instruction according to an operation, wherein the battery insertion and removable surface of the battery housing section is formed on an undersurface of the data-processing unit.
 8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising, in addition to the data-processing unit, a display unit that includes a display screen for displaying information and is linked to the data-processing unit in an openable and closable manner. 